Have a Hick's Fancy mulberry tree. Planted 4 years ago. Second year grew well and fruited well. Next two years, new leaves were yellow and fruit didn't mature and fell off. Have mulched, fed organically and with non urganic fertilizer. Water is not a problem. Tree is not water logged. Sunny, north facing garden. Local nurseryman advised Bass Coast soils are low in magnesium and sulphur. Fed epsom salts to correct. Soil ph is about right. I spread a bit of gypsum around the drip line anyway.

This year 2008 (July), the new leaves are looking rather yellow again. Can anyone advise what I need to do to help please? I have many fruit trees growing well here, except for the mulberry.

Frustrating sometimes innit :-) I can't offer much because it sounds like a lab job. I'd give your local agriculture dept. a ring and ask their advice. I've grown hicks successfully in both Perth, (acidic grey sand) and futher south on river flood plain loam. Try a big hit of nitrogen, (lawn fertilizer)._________

Many thanks folks. Have spread a bit of lawn food, with a small amount of iron sulphate around the drip line and watered well in. Anxiously viewing each day now and will report on progress (or lack of it)!

The Hicks Fancy Mulberry has not improved since last month (July). Leaves small and very yellow. Fruit not developing. The nitrogen fertilizer did the job on the grass out past the drip line but not the tree! Looks like an expensive laboratory soil test coming up. Something seems to have been leached out of the soil in the first year, after that pffffft.

I forgot to mention when putting things around to help the tree, get a crow bar or something similar and make holes in the ground, all the goodies you are putting around may not necessarily be getting to the roots.

The best place to do this is around the 'drip line' ie
hose the tree and watch where the water comes down, this is the drip line, usually around the edge of the line of the branches.

It is going to take time to rectify this, it won't happen overnight.

I hope when you planted this tree that you improved the soil to start with and not just dug a hole and planted it.
Nothing will grow properly if you did this, so forking over will losen up the surface soil. Try and get the grass away from the tree also, the grass will use all the nutrients and not give the tree any.

Try and get the holes as deep as possible, and maybe use some of the Wettasoil type of products which will help the different things you have given the plant a chance to penetrate down the holes.

You may also have to use a pitch fork and make lots of holes over the whole area as everything is probably still sitting on the surface or washed away to another part of the garden.

Hi BBerry.....Thanks for your comments and suggestions. Rather much the same this year so far except some new leaves have appeared which are dark green (as per the first year) but don't think the fruit is going to stay to fruition.

Tried some Nitrosol as foliar feed a few weeks ago (maybe that has helped somewhat). Your suggestions about forking to allow ferts to get to the roots is a good one. I will try that before next season's growth starts. These Bass Coast soils are deficient in magnesium and sulphur so have added magnesium sulphate to the fert mix, as I have done to other trees in the garden. This was from a nurseryman in the area.

The soil is well draining and I have a watering system from my tanks that ensure nothing dries out. There is no grass within the dripline.

I will report as the season gets into Spring and certainly will do the forking and fertilizing before next year's growth starts. I have noted your comment that I may be loving the Mulberry to death but it is too difficult to know without an expensive soil test.

I did a quick google search (yellowing leaves on mulberry) and found this page which might have some useful information for you. It's about weeping mulberry's.

http://www.suite101.com/discussion.cfm/homeandstyle/101614_________Even the hard, dull, dry ground harbours life - which is brought to the surface with the fresh touch of drenching rain (or the humble watering can).

Thanks to all who have kindly responded to my Hicks Fancy Mulberry problem. I have tried all the suggestions. This growing season started out like the last few seasons - fruit starts and then fails to develop. Leaves started to fall again. However - after feeding and spiking the soil around the dripline and using blood and bone, cow manure, soil water crystals (powder), magnesium sulphate and more of the previously applied food, the tree actually grew new (good sized) leaves and produced a bit of new fruit. Looks like what was done was too late for this season but may produce good results for next season.

I will leave the post open until next season so that we all can follow up on whether the treatment response actually worked. I will also re feed before the next growth season. Thanks again to you all. Cheers Digger3.

New spring season coming up. The Hick's Fancy Mulberry is looking better than last season, especially after the ground spiking and fertilizing. Fruit is showing no signs of falling off but the leaves are smaller than the first 2 years and not dark green as they were then but not entirely yellow.

Fingers crossed. Will report back soon. Should know if the tree is going to produce within a few more weeks. Thanks again for your interest.

It is now several years since my last report. I used the advice to fork holes around the drip line and dropped in the various fertilizers with lots of water to get it to the roots. Well, the harvest the following year was abundant, to say the least. Used a plethora of fertilizers, including magnesium and sulphur (Epsom Salts). Cracked the jackpot the following season? - definitely not. Once again fruit failed to develop and foliage was weak. The foliage developed beautifully later after the expected fruiting time was over. Abundant foliage now but still puzzled why no fruit again after the preceding year was so bountiful. Clearly a particular element was again missing in the fertilizer mix. So, what was that element????? Back to square one - almost. Anyone have any further ideas apart from an expensive soil test? Thanks....Digger3.

love that last one about the bees. My mulberry tree was doing great in a super large bucket (we are renters) - green leaves, just enough fruit for when the kids were curious. Maybe 10 berries a week. Which is good for a bucket job haha. We had a massive tree that attracted loads of bees right near it.

We just moved around the corner and there's hardly any bees here. I haven't seen one in 3 months! Although there must be some around somewhere as we are literally just around the corner and the leaves have gone yellow and its not growing any fruit whatsoever. We tried putting it in an even bigger bucket that hubby had used for fishing with lots of holes drilled on the bottom. I'm going to grow some flowers near it and see if that helps. What great advice thank you. _________I have no green thumb - my home fruit/veg/herb garden is mostly fails with the odd fluke where something grows. I\'m hoping to change that this year and have more success.